It remains to be seen if Windows Phone 7 can bring Nokia back from the dead, though if you ask Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, Microsoft may have somehow managed to bring back Steve Jobs instead. We are assuming he’s joking, but those are still pretty strong praise of a once former rival. Based on the context, it sounds of it he was referring to how well Microsoft nailed the UI experience, which most people credit as the platforms strongest selling point. In a recent interview with The Verge, Woz declared that Windows Phone is like being “with a friend, not a tool”.

The Windows Phone team has been keeping the Champaign on ice for months now waiting for a reason to celebrate, and that moment may have finally arrived. According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, Nokia has surged pasted HTC and Samsung to become the single largest manufacturer of Windows Phone devices. This is pretty impressive when you consider that the Lumia lineup is only just now hitting the market in full force, and already accounts for 33 percent of all Windows Phone handsets sold.

There are certain perks to working as a tech journalist: coffee is free and plentiful, trade shows are equal parts fun and frantic, and most of all, we get the chance to play with lots and lots of new toys. I’ve personally had the luck to be able to swap handsets pretty much bi-weekly for the last couple of months, and find it kind of a bummer that Windows Phone 7 hasn’t really been embraced as the solid mobile platform that it is (I said it’s a bummer, I didn’t say we didn’t see it coming).

Regardless of the numbers, WP7 is one of our favorite mobile platforms, outshining Android in almost every aspect. Don’t believe me? Well, allow me to try and change your mind.

We're suckers for games around these parts, and smart phone games are no exception. Many of the compelling games for Windows Phone are Xbox Live titles, but certainly not all of them. One game which is a perfect example of what independent developers are capable of is ARMED.

One of the huge benefits of using a Windows Phone is how it integrates with Microsoft’s cloud services like Zune, SkyDrive, Hotmail, and Xbox Live. All of these services are integrated directly into the Windows Phone OS, but a few have also been targeted with secondary apps to increase the level of integration.

Many of us are past the Thanksgiving holiday and are fully in the middle of the post-Thanksgiving guilt trip. The turkey and various accoutrements have been consumed to the point of gluttony, and many of us are suffering through the adverse affect the Thanksgiving holiday has on our waistline. In the interest of assisting our readers return to their pre-holiday state of health, we're featuring OptumizeMe as our Windows Phone 7 App of the Week.

Even though Thanksgiving weekend and Black Friday are behind us, the Christmas shopping season - and the retail madness it brings - marches steadily along. Frenzied bargain hunters and a multitude of confusing, competing offers can turn "the most wonderful time of the year" into a shopping nightmare if you aren't prepared. Where are the best deals, and what is the best way to find those deals while on the go? Enter ShopSavvy.

While its harsh to judge a device against the oft-outlandish rumors preceding its launch, the disappointment surrounding the iPhone 4S launch was justified as the upgrades did not seem commensurate with the long gap between the 4S and its predecessor. However, the smartphone’s voice-activated personal assistant Siri is an entirely different matter, with even Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently calling it a “significant development.” Microsoft’s Craig Mundie, though, is not in awe of Siri.

Despite officially moving away from a Symbian/MeeGo focus last Spring, Nokia went ahead with its final MeeGo-based device and put of the N9 just a few months ago. Although the device was never supposed to arrive on American shores, unlocked device reseller Expansys has a brand-new Nokia N9 with your name on it, if you roll that way. This doomed device, will set you back $690, but you so get free shipping.

You may recall that shortly after its launch, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 was hacked by the Chevron team, allowing users to install homebrew apps without a pricey developer account. Microsoft asked the devs to pull it down as the tool interfered with updating devices, but promised to work with the developers to officially support unlocking. Well, the day has finally arrived. Official Windows Phone unlocking is available for a nominal fee, and users won’t even have to void warranties to do it.